


Ice and Fire

by Stresic



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Post-karakura battle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 00:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15425091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stresic/pseuds/Stresic
Summary: I'm not good with summaries...but lets just say that not everything is as it seems.





	1. Mission In the World of the Living

**Author's Note:**

> Some parts may come out a little OOC...but given the circumstances in those particular scenes, please excuse them.

**Chapter One: Mission in the World of the Living**

"Matsumoto! Wake up!" Hitsugaya Toushirou yelledat his sleeping lieutenant.

"Taichou? Why are you being so loud?" Matsumoto Rangiku asked, ignorant of her Captain's current level of irritation.

"Matsumoto, enough is enough! You have one hour to finish that stack of paperwork!" Hitsugaya snapped at the strawberry blonde before he sat down at his own desk to do the stack of paperwork that was taller than him.

"Eh?! But Taichou-!" Matsumoto began to protest, until she saw the distressed and pale look on the white-haired boy's face. She walked over to him. "Taichou, you aren't looking too well, you should go rest. The paperwork can wait." She told him in a tone that let him know that she was being serious.

"I'm fine." He snapped without even looking up from the paper he was reading over. He continued to do his paperwork; all the while, doing his best to ignore his lieutenant's nagging. "Go do your paperwork. If it isn't done within the hour, I'm confiscating all of your sake." He threatened, earning a groan from the busty strawberry blonde.

Matsumoto sighed, and reluctantly returned to her desk in order to start and finish the large stack of papers. She managed to finish half of the load within the hour. She noticed that her Captain had finished his own workload, but he hadn't moved from his spot in the chair. She stood up and walked over to his desk. "Taichou, go rest. This isn't like you." She tried to reason with the stubborn captain, which seemed to shake him out of his daze.

"I told you, Matsumoto, I'm fine." He repeated himself as he stood up and walked over to her desk. He took half of what was left on her desk and brought it to his own and started working on it. With their combined work ethic, Matsumoto's paperwork was finished within the next half-hour. "Matsumoto, tomorrow we are leaving for a mission in the World of the Living. Meet at the Senkaimon at 10:00 hours. This is the Head-Captain's orders. You are dismissed for tonight. Go home and rest." Hitsugaya Toushirou told his lieutenant as he stared out of the office window.

Matsumoto watched him curiously. He wasn't acting like himself, and she knew it. "I'll leave when you do, Taichou." She said, determined to find out what was bothering her precious Captain.

"I'm leaving right now." Hitsugaya told her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. He turned to look at her, and it seemed like it had been forever since he had looked at her face. He could see the concern that she had for him written clearly on her face. He gave her his best look of reassurance as he said, "I'm fine."

Matsumoto Rangiku stared at him for a minute, trying to determine if she should just leave him be for the time being, or if she should press further. Behind his reassuring eyes, she saw his stubbornness, and instantly knew that she wouldn't be getting anything out of pressing him for more information. She sighed, "Okay, sleep well, Taichou. And...if you need or want to talk, you know where to find me." She reluctantly walked to the door.

"Yeah, you too." Toushirou said quietly, just above a whisper. "Good night, Matsumoto." He added a little louder.

"Good night, Taichou. See you in the morning." Matsumoto said before she left the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Hitsugaya Toushirou alone in the office.

Hitsugaya turned to look at his desk. He opened one of its drawers, and picked up one of the papers inside. He reread it for the hundredth time that day. It was the mission order for tomorrow's mission order. 'Hitsugaya Toushirou and Matsumoto Rangiku are hereby ordered to locate and either arrest or execute, Mitsutaka Akashi in the World of the Living.' He read the order silently, over and over again. His face paled as he reread the target's name.

Carefully, he placed the order back in the drawer and closed it. He locked the drawer and placed the key in his pocket. Then, silently, he left the room and locked up the office. He returned to his quarters for the night, and fell sound asleep, only to have his sleep invaded by the terror of the same nightmare that had plagued him the night before.

* * *

 

"T-Taichou?! You look like you just saw a ghost!" Matsumoto Rangiku exclaimed as she saw her boss approach the Senkaimon, where she was waiting.

"I'm fine." Hitsugaya repeated what he had told her the night before with the same stubborn eyes. He walked up to the gate slowly.

"You don't look fine." Matsumoto stated as she observed the dark bags under his eyes.

"Well, I am. So drop it, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya snapped without thinking. Then, he glanced up at her and the hurt expression that now set itself on her features. He looked away as he passed her. "I'm sorry." He apologized quietly. "Let's go." He added as he walked through the gate.

Matsumoto followed him through the gate that led to the World of the Living. She was hurt by his words, but she knew those didn't reflect what he truly felt, in fact, they probably reflected the opposite of how he really felt. "Taichou, where will we be staying in the World of the Living?" She asked her captain. She tried to remain cautious of his unusually short fuse as she asked the question, as she didn't want to stress him any further.

If we require a place to stay, we will have to ask Urahara Kisuke if we can use his shop." Hitsugaya answered as they continued to run through the unnaturally long passage that would allow them access to the World of the Living.

"Taichou, what do you mean 'if'? You still haven't told me what the mission is." Matsumoto pointed out to her tired captain. She was surprised when her captain stopped dead in his tracks. She thought he was about to say something, but he didn't and only returned to his original pace.

The two ran for several more minutes, which they knew meant several hours in both Seireitei and the World of the Living, before they arrived in Karakura Town. They both took a moment to catch their breaths as they felt their limiters take effect. It was already dark, and the only light supplied to them was by the dull moon and the bright lamps that lined the street.

"Oh? Now this is a rare sight." The two shinigami heard a voice say from below them. They looked down to see Urahara Kisuke looking up at them with his usual salesman-like smile.

"Let's go, Matsumoto. We don't have time to play around." Hitsugaya said, ignoring the man below them. The shinigami captain quickly disappeared with a skillful shunpo.

"Eh? Taichou?" Matsumoto questioned as her Captain disappeared. She quickly smiled at Urahara before she followed her captain. "Wait! Taichou! You still haven't told me what our mission is!" She called out to her Captain, who was ahead of her.

Once again, he stopped in his tracks, but this time he did answer her. "The mission is just a hollow. It's simple, but urgent." He lied.

"They sent a Captain-class and Lieutenant-class to simply take care of a hollow?" She questioned in a way that let him know she knew he was lying.

Hitsugaya refused to look at her; he knew she was on to him, but he couldn't tell her the true mission. He had to complete the real mission on his own, and that was something he wasn't willing to budge on. "Yes...they did." He, literally, lied through his teeth, unsure of what else he could say.

Matsumoto was stunned that he would lie to her, even when he knew she was on to him. He had always told her the truth, especially when she knew he was lying. She was speechless...she couldn't think of anything that would warrant his insistence on such a horrible lie. Her thoughts were interrupted by her captain's voice; "Matsumoto, we will split up here." He told her suddenly.

"What?! Taichou!" Matsumoto questioned in a stunned fury. "If you don't want to tell me what the mission is, that's fine! But, please...let me help you!" She pleaded with him.

"I told you the mission, and by splitting up you are helping me, Matsumoto." Toushirou told her before he disappeared from her sight faster than Matsumoto could see.

"Taichou..." Matsumoto whispered under her breath before she wen to find the one person she knew she could count on to help her, Shihouin Yoruichi.

* * *

 

"Oh, this is quite the surprise, Hitsugaya-taichou." Urahara Kisuke said as a lone Toushirou appeared in front of him.

"I have a favor to ask of you." Hitsugaya explained.

"Hm..." Urahara hummed curiously.

"If Matsumoto comes by, give her this." Hitsugaya said as he took off his Captain's haori and folded it neatly. He held the white coat out to the suspicious shopkeeper.

Urahara Kisuke turned serious. "You realize what taking this off and leaving it here means, I assume." He asked more than stated as he took the coat from the boy-captain.

"Of course." Hitsugaya nodded confirming that he was ready for any repercussions that would come with his actions.

"Very well, but I won't be responsible for what she does afterwards." Urahara agreed.

"Thank you, Urahara." Hitsugaya thanked before he disappeared into the dark night.

"Are you sure you should just let him go?" A black cat asked Urahara before jumping onto the shopkeeper's shoulder.

"Those were the eyes of someone that has a mission. A life or death battle is approaching our young Hitsugaya-taichou." Urahara told his feline friend.

"Even more of a reason to stop him, no?" The cat questioned.

"Quite the opposite, Yoruichi-san. This is a battle he must fight." Urahara told the cat with a shake of his head.

"Didn't Rangiku come with him? What are you going to tell her?" The cat inquired.

"It won't be me she comes to." Urahara said with a knowing smirk.

"So, you are just pushing that job to me, huh?" Yoruichi asked with a sigh. "I should've known."

"Come now, Yoruichi-san, you know I'm no good with delicate things." Urahara told her.

"Yeah...I know." The feline agreed.

* * *

 

"I'm sorry, Matsumoto...but I need to do this by myself." Hitsugaya whispered to himself as he ran to the outskirts of Karakura, where he would be able to hide himself for the time being. He ran throught the woods right outside of the Japanese town, and found a suitable cave to camp out in until he found his target, Mitsutaka Akashi. Slowly, he approached the cave, cautious of any potential dangers.

When he finally entered, he felt a familiar presence and reiatsu, both of which should've been deceased. Then, he heard a familiar voice. "It's been a while, Hitsugaya-kun."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened when he saw the man who spoke. The man who was supposed to be dead. "Ichimaru Gin!" Hitsugaya exclaimed as he immediately drew his trusted zanpakuto, Hyourinmaru.

"Oh? Rangiku isn't with you?" Gin asked disappointment tinting his voice.

"N-No...we split up for a mission-wait! Why am I telling you this?!" Hitsugaya asked himself angrily with confusion at the current situation.

"I'm not your enemy, Hitsugaya-kun." Ichimaru told the boy-captain.

"How do I know I can trust you? You betrayed the Gotei, you betrayed Kira, you even betrayed Matsumoto!" Toushirou asked him, his voice raised when he mentioned Matsumoto.

"I only ever joined the Gotei 13 to get revenge for Rangiku." Ichimaru said calmly.

"Do you realize how much you hurt her by leaving?" Hitsugaya asked the squinty-eyed ex-captain.

"Of course I do. I never wished for her to follow me to the Gotei 13. Nor did I ever want to end up on the opposite side as her." Gin said, his voice slightly raised.

"It was the first time I had ever seen her cry...or seen her so drunk that she didn't even recognize Kyouraku." Hitsugaya said quietly.

"I'm sorry for leaving her, but I don't regret my actions." Ichimaru stated.

Hitsugaya Toushirou studied Ichimaru's face. He couldn't read what the man was truly thinking, but he had a gut feeling that he wasn't lying. "...I believe you." Hitsugaya decided aloud as he sheathed his sword.

"Now then, why are you here alone? And without your captain's haori no less." Ichimaru question with a confused and curious look upon his face.

Toshiro sighed. "I didn't come to the World of the Living alone, and I did come with my haori. The mission was given to me and Matsumoto. After I split up with her, I left my haori with Urahara Kisuke." He explained.

"And the mission? What is it?" Ichimaru asked.

Hitsugaya hesitated to answer, but in the end decided that there was no reason not to tell the ex-captain. "The execution of Mitsutaka Akashi. Matsumoto doesn't know what the mission is." Hitsugaya told the man.

"'Hm...What is your relation to this Mitsutaka Akashi?" Ichimaru asked, his perceptive eyes staring at Toushirou.

"He is an enemy that I must defeat at all costs...that is all he is." Hitsugaya Toushirou said as if to convince himself rather than Ichimaru.

"Hm...Well, I will help you if you need it. For now, if you want to stay here, feel free." Ichimaru welcomed the white-haired captain in.

"Thank you." Toushirou thanked quietly as he came in.

* * *

Matsumoto perched herself on top of a light post as she rested. She couldn't understand why she was so tired already. She had slept that night, and she had eaten that morning. It could've been the limiter, but it had never affected her like this before. She was out of breath, and she felt achy, but she knew she didn't have time to rest. She stood up, feeling like she had rested enough. She resumed her search for Yoruichi. She had given up on trying to find her captain for the time being, and made her way to Urahara's shop, where Yoruichi has been known to frequent. When she arrived, she knocked on the shop door. The one who answered was the young boy who Matsumoto recognized as being one of the two children who worked at the shop.

"The shop is closed. Please return during business hours." The red haired boy told her. 

"Actually, I wanted to know if Yoruichi was here." Matsumoto told him before he managed to shut the door. 

"Yoruichi-san?" The boy question curiously.

"I need her help with something." Matsumoto told the boy.

"Ginta, let her in." A woman said from behind the boy. The boy did as he was told, and moved to let Matsumoto inside the shop. "You're heree about Hitsugaya-kun, right?" The familiar dark-skinned woman asked.

"How did you know?" Matsumoto asked the woman. She got her answer when Yoruichi handed her a folded white haori that she knew had belonged to her Captain. 

"He left it with us about half an hour ago." Yoruichi told the lieutenant, who hugged the haori to her chest. 

"No...Taichou would never abandon his post..." Matsumoto said in denial.

"I'm sorry, Rangiku." Yoruichi needlessly apologized. 

"I have to make a call." Rangiku said suddenly as she took out her soul society issued phone and dialed a number. She let it ring, determined to get to the bottom of what her Captain was hiding from her. 

* * *

Abarai groaned as he heard his phone ring. He picked it up and looked at the caller-id. He wasn't too surprised to see that it was Matsumoto, she had a tendency to call others to come drinking with her late at night. He answered it reluctantly, knowing that she would probably just keep calling until he answered anyway. "Matsumoto-san? What are you doing up so late?" He yawned.

"I'm sorry to have woken you, Renji. I need a favor." Matsumoto said, which confused Renji, because it didn't sound like she was at the bar.

"I'm not awake enough to drink." Abarai told her, still assuming that she wanted a drinking buddy.

"No, Renji, I'm in the World of the Living. I need you to do me a favor, and sneak into my Captain's office. In the second drawer of his desk, there should be mission orders. I need you to find them and then call me back." Rangiku explained to him.

Renji was fully awake now, as well as completely confused. "Break into Hitsugaya-taichou's office?! Are you insane, Matsumoto-san?!" Renji exclaimed louder than he had meant.

"Not so loud, Renji. And, besides, you won't be breaking into the office, there is a key to get in hidden above the door frame. The drawer you will need to break into, but I will take the blame for that. If anyone asks, just say that you are doing me a favor." Rangiku told him.

Renji reluctantly relented, and sighed. "Fine, but you are explaining the situation after." Abarai agreed before hanging up. He quickly stood up and got dressed. "What have you gotten yourself into this time, Matsumoto-san?" He asked himself aloud as he left his quarters silently, and began to make his way to the 10th division. It didn't take him more than a couple of minutes to arrive at the 10th division office. What took him a while was trying to figure out a way to open the drawer without causing too much damage. He couldn't find a key no matter how hard he looked, but he knew that Matsumoto was counting on him. He quietly picked the lock with mild difficulty. He was surprised by how difficult picking the lock was, and he gained a new respect for thieves. It took him 5 minutes to get the drawer open. He easily found the paper with the mission orders that his friend was looking for since it was laying right on top. He pulled his phone out and hit redial as a smirk manifested on his tired face.

* * *

"He doesn't want you to follow him, Rangiku. He has to fight this battle on his own." Yoruichi said as Rangiku put her phone down.

Matsumoto was about to respond, when she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She immediately used shunpo to get herself outside. She managed to just barely make it to the bushes outside before he stomach released its contents. 

"Rangiku!" Yoruichi called out with concern as she followed her friend out of the shop.

Matsumoto fell to her knees as her stomach began to hurt. "I-I'm fine." Matsumoto managed to say as she caught her breath, which she hadn't realized she had even lost in the first place. 

"That is not fine!" Yoruichi scolded as she rubbed the lieutenant's back. Then a thought came to her. "Rangiku...have you gotten sick like this a lot lately?" She asked.

"Hm...maybe once or twice earlier this week. It's probably just remnants of a stomach bug." Matsumoto answered truthfully.

"Have you felt more fatigued lately?" Yoruichi pressed seriously.

"Well...now that you mention it..." Rangiku said, not quite sure where Yoruichi was taking this.

Yoruichi closed her eyes, and examined her friend with her own reiatsu. She confirmed her speculation. "Rangiku...I think you should return to Seireitei immediately." The dark-skinned woman said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Matsumoto questioned with confusion.

"You need to go see Unohana." Yoruichi told her.

"I'm not leaving without Toushirou." Rangiku declared without thinking.

Yoruichi's eyes widenedd when Matsumoto didn't call her Captain "taichou" like she usually did. Yoruichi was about to speak when Matsumoto's phone rang.

"Did you find it, Renji" Matsumoto answered.

"Yeah, it's a simple arrest or execute order for someone called Mitsutaka Akashi." Renji told her.

"I see...thank you, Renji. I'm sorry for waking you." Matsumoto apologized to her friend.

"No, it's fine, but why did you need me to read you the order? Didn't Hitsugaya-taichou tell you? Or did something happen?" Renji asked her quizzically.

"No...I just forgot what the order was,  and I didn't want to bother him. He's been really stressed lately." She unconvincingly lied.

"If you say so...If something happens, call me." Renji told her, knowing that Matsumoto could be fairly stubborn about things. He hung up first, leaving Matsumoto to put her phone away.

"Mitsutaka Akashi...Who is he?" Matsumoto asked herself.

"Rangiku, please return to Seireitei." Yoruichi repeated herself.

"I'm fine. I just had a stomachache. It's nothing." Matsumoto told the former-captain.

"That's not it." Yoruichi told the strawberry blonde woman. She took a breath. "Rangiku, you're pregnant."


	2. A Fight Between Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is a little longer...could be wrong. I'm still getting used to this site.

**Chapter Two: A Fight Between Brothers**

"Rangiku, you are pregnant." Yoruichi revealed to the strawberry blonde shinigami.

"W-What did you say?" Matsumoto questioned, disbelieving what she had just heard.

"I checked your body and reiatsu with my own...I confirmed my suspicions; you are pregnant Rangiku." Yoruichi explained herself.

"T-That can't be..." Matsumoto said in denial.

"Rangiku, who is the father?" Yoruichi asked both curiously and seriously.

Matsumoto looked up at the woman in horror. "I-I can't!" She exclaimed before she disappeared.

"Ah! Rangiku!" Yoruichi tried to call the woman back in vain. "Damn it. Kisuke! I know you're there, get your ass out here." She yelled to her childhood friend.

"You called?" Urahara asked as he and the rest of his shop staff appeared behind Yoruichi.

"Where is Hitsugaya Toushirou?" Yoruichi asked seriously with a slight tone of urgency.

"Hm...I don't know. Perhaps the woods just outside of town?" He guessed with a shrug.

"Find him. I have a funny feeling he is the father. I'm going to find Rangiku." Yoruichi instructed the green clad shopkeeper before disappearing after her friend.

Urahara sighed at the situation the young captain had gotten himself into. "You all heard her. Let's split up and search, but let's keep this quiet. Don't let Kurosaki-san or his friends know about this." Urahara instructed his staff.

* * *

"So, this Mitsutaka guy...do you have any idea where he is?" Gin asked his new roommate.

"No, but that is of no consequence since he will come to me once I tell him where I am." Hitsugaya told his new ally. 

"How do you plan to do that?" Ichimaru asked curiously.

"I only need to release Hyourinmaru, but I can't do that until Matsumoto returns to Seireitei." Hitsugaya told his squinty-eyed companion.

"Hm...What if I distracted her? I can't promise a time limit, but I can try." Gin offered.

"It won't work long enough." Hitsugaya told him.

"Give her a separate mission?" Ichimaru tried another suggestion.

"No, by this time she would have had Abarai or Hinamori find the order." Hitsugaya shook his head.

"Why not just let her come then? I'll keep her out of the battle." Ichimaru said after a brooding moment.

Hitsugaya thought silently for a moment. "It would seem that is our only option. I'm counting on you, Ichimaru." Hitsugaya said as he took a breath. He slowly reached behind him, to his zanpakuto, and drew it from it's sheathe. He walked out of the cave and held his sword up to the sky. "Sit upon the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" His voice roared across the surrounding trees. A frost began to surround him as he walked out to the middle of a nearby clearing. "Come, Mitsutaka Akashi." He whispered, his hands shaking from a feeling of dread that he couldn't seem to shake.

* * *

"Rangiku!" Yoruichi called as her friend came into her view. She had finally caught up to the strawberry blonde lieutenant. Luckily, the lieutenant wasn't hiding but instead just waiting on a rooftop, in what appeared to be deep thought.

"Yoruichi..." Matsumoto whispered just above a whisper as she turned to look at her friend. 

"Rangiku...tell me the truth...is Hitsugaya-kun the father?" Yoruichi asked gently, not wanting to spook the lieutenant again.

Matsumoto sat quietly for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "Yes." She seemed hesitant to answer.

"I'm assuming that since you didn't know, he also doesn't know... Do you want to tell him? Or should I?" Yoruichi asked her.

"I will...he deserves at least that much." Matsumoto told her quietly. Slowly, Matsumoto stood up on top of the roof which she had sat down on to rest. 

"Well, first, we need to-!" Yoruichi began before she was interrupted by an intense reiatsu that both she, and Matsumoto, recognized. 

"Toushirou!" Matsumoto exclaimed when she felt the familiar icy reiatsu of her captain. She immediately disappeared towards the source of the reiatsu with a skillful shunpo.

"Ah, Rangiku! Wait!" Yoruichi called out as she passed her friend. "Think! Why is he letting his presence be clearly sensed by all, when he was just running?" Yoruichi pointed out.

"He's trying to lure out Mitsutaka Akashi." Rangiku said in tone that said she already knew that. "But, even so...I need to go there...I need to back him up. It's my job, as his lieutenant." She told the dark-skinned woman.

Yoruichi sighed. "As long as you know...let's go." Yoruichi disappeared with shunpo first, followed by Matsumoto Rangiku. It didn't take them long to arrive at the outer edges of the woods. Skillfully, the two shinigami maneuvered through the trees until they came across a familiar hat-and-clogs shopkeeper.

"Oh, Yoruichi-san, I found him." Urahara kisuke said in a joking tone as he picked up his pace to keep up with the two women.

"Yeah, so did we." Yoruichi told him with a roll of her eyes. She looked back at the unusually exhausted lieutenant behind her. "Rangiku, if you need to rest then we an rest." She offered the lieutenant.

"No, I'm okay." Matsumoto told the woman in front of her in an unwavering tone of voice.

Then, they all heard a familiar male voice from behind them. "Urahara-san! Yoruichi-san!"

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun." Urahara greeted with a tilt of his hat.

"What's going on?" The substitute shinigami asked as he ran to keep up.

Urahara and Yoruichi looked back at Matsumoto, unsure of what to tell the teen. "It's nothing. Taichou and I can handle this." Matsumoto told him in her usual kind voice.

"How come Urahrara-san and Yoruichi-san are going with you?" Ichigo asked her, unsure if he believed her or not.

"I need their help looking for something." Matsumoto told him vaguely.

"I see. Well, if you need help, don't hesitate to ask, Rangiku-san." Kurosaki Ichigo said before he returned the way he had come.

"Are you sure you don't want him to come along?" Yoruichi asked the lieutenant once the teen was out of earshot.

"No, if I let him come, Rukia is bound to find out about this, and then Renji will also know. It'll be a butterfly effect with poor consequences for the 10th Division." Rangiku explained. 

"We are getting closer." Urahara alerted the two women as the frosty air became even stronger, overwhelmingly so. Then, much to their surprise, the frosty air became scorching hot. 

* * *

"He's here, Hitsugaya-kun." Ichimaru Gin told his friend. 

"Yeah, and Matsumoto is on her way with Urahara and Yoruichi." Hitsugaya Toushirou agreed with a nod.

 "Mm-hm." Ichimaru nodded. 

They both looked up as they felt the presence of Mitsutaka Akashi appear. He was a  man who looked nearly identical to Hitsugaya Toushirou except his hair and eyes were dyed the same color as blood, and he was taller. He wore the standard garb of a shinigami, and wore a sword, which Hitsugaya and Ichimaru assumed was the man's zanpakuto. Mitsutaka perched himself on a tree branch, a large devilish smirk plaguing his face. "It's been a long time, Toushirou." Mitsutaka said.

"Nii-san." Hitsugaya acknowledged with a hint of nostalgia.

"Hello, little brother." Mitsutaka greeted his sly smirk growing with every word. "You have grown quite a bit since the last time we met." The red haired man added.

"And you haven't changed a bit." Hitsugaya countered with venom as he got into his stance with Hyourinmaru.

"Is that any way to talk to the brother you haven't seen in so long?" Akashi asked as he drew his own katana and got into his own stance, which mirrored Hitsugaya's. "Stand below the damnations of Hell, Honoakumo." Akashi roared in order to release his own shikai. His reiatsu was the complete opposite of Hitsugaya's freezing reiatsu. It was also far more powerful as it consumed Hitsugaya's reiatsu. The two shinigami fought with their pure reiatsu for a moment before deciding that it was futile.

* * *

"This heat...what is it? Taichou's reiatsu should be freezing." Matsumoto asked her to former-captain companions. Neither Yoruichi, nor Urahara answered her, for neither of them knew the answer to her question.

"What did you say your mission was?" Urahara asked Matsumoto rather suddenly.

"I didn't." Matsumoto told him simply.

"Well, then perhaps you should." He suggested with his usual salesman-like smile.

"The capture or execution of someone by the name of Mitsutaka Akashi." The strawberry-blonde lieutenant told the two shinigami in front of her.

"I see. That explains quite a lot." Urahara Kisuke thought aloud.

"You know who that is?" Rangiku questioned with surprise.

"Mitsutaka-san was the 10th Division Captain a long time ago...back then, he went by a different name; Hitsugaya Akashi. From what I can remember, he is Hitsugaya-kun's much older brother." Urahara explained.

"That's right. There was a captain by that name, wasn't there? I believe his zanpakuto was called Hidori. A fire type zanpakuto on the same level as Hyourinmaru. Possibly stronger." Yoruichi added thoughtfully.

"What happened to him? How come I've never heard of him before?" Matsumoto asked with a fairly large amount of confusion.

"Around the time I became a Captain, and Kisuke joined the onmitsukido, Hitsugaya Akashi disappeared. It was assumed that he was dead...but that was a little over a century ago." Yoruichi told her friend.

"And now, he has somehow returned, and Taichou is about to engage him in battle." Matsumoto summarized quietly.

"So it would seem." Urahara agreed as they came to a clearing, where they saw a familiar white haired captain standing face-to-face with a red haired version of himself. 

Matsumoto's eyes went wide at the scene before her. Immediately, she flew to his side. "Taichou!" She called out urgently.

"Matsumoto?!" He questioned.

"Oh? And, who might this be, Toushirou?" Mitsutaka Akashi asked with a smirk.

"Matsumoto, get out of here! Return to Seireitei!" Hitsugaya ordered his subordinate and friend.

"I'm sorry, Taichou, but that is one order I cannot obey!" Matsumoto said with a shake of her head, her voice steadfast and determined.

"Then get back. This is my fight." Hitsugaya told her with a sigh as he moved so he was standing in front of her.

"You should listen to him, Rangiku." Ichimaru said from behind the lieutenant, surprising her.

Slowly, Rangiku turned to look behind her, disbelieving her ears. She hadn't noticed his presence at all until that moment. She was shocked with what she saw. Her childhood friend, whom she had thought dead, was standing right in front of her, alive and well. She thought her heart was going to explode from the shock. "G-Gin?" She managed to question before she clutched her chest in pain.

"Shit! That was too much of a surprise for her in her current state!" Yoruichi thought aloud as she quickly went down to where the shocked lieutenant was, and knocked her out. Then, she hit Ichimaru on the back of his head. "Dumbass! You don't surprise pregnant women like that!" She scolded without thinking, before she mentally cursed herself out. 

"What did you just say?" Hitsugaya asked without looking back at her.

"You two will need to talk. So hurry up." Yoruichi told him as she picked Matsumoto up and disappeared back towards where Urahara was waiting. 

"Why, if it isn't Yoruichi-chan!" Akashi said with a clearly fake joyous smile, as he moved faster than any of them could see, Yoruichi included, into the "Flash Goddess'" path.

"Hitsugaya Akashi...No, Mitsutaka Akashi, former captain of the 10th Division." Yoruichi acknowledged the man with a glare.

"And, who might that be there?" Akashi asked as he pointed to the lieutenant in Yoruichi's arms.

Ichimaru and Hitsugaya both moved to stand in between Yoruichi and Mitsutaka. "It's none of you business who she is." Hitsugaya told his elder brother.

"Don't be like that, Toushirou." Akashi said as he swung his zanpakuto at Hitsugaya, creating a sonic boom of flames.

"Hyourinmaru!" Hitsugaya yelled as he also slashed his sword, creating an icy sonic boom of equal size and power to counter his opponent's attack.

"You rely too much on Hyourinmaru! I have told you this before, Toushirou!" Mitsutaka scolded as he appeared in front of Hitsugaya and kicked the small captain across the clearing into a rock. Toushirou felt something crack, but he knew he didn't have time to worry about it now.

Yoruichi looked to Ichimaru. "I don't know how you are still alive, nor why you are here, but let's go. We will only get in their way if we remain here." She told the squinty-eyed traitor before she tried to get away from the field with her shunpo again, only to be stopped once again by Mitsutaka.

"Oh, there is no leaving the party once you have joined, Yoruichi-chan." Mitsutaka said as he forced Yoruichi to stop dead in her tracks. Then, Yoruichi tried to go around Mitsutaka Akashi again, but this time she felt herself be pulled back by a hand on her shoulder. Mitsutaka had grabbed her and was holding her down. She couldn't shake him off unless she put Rangiku down, but that was too risky...'Flash Master' Yoruichi had been trapped.

Yoruichi looked back at Mitsutaka behind her, and tried to kick him away, but he easily  evaded the attack before he stabbed her with his zanpakuto. He pulled his sword out, with a smug smirk plastered on his face. Yoruichi fell to one knee, trying to keep Matsumoto protected in her arms as she coughed up some blood. The sword had pierced one of her lungs.

"You have become stronger as well, Yoruichi-chan. Faster too! But, you still can't run from me." Akashi told the dark-skinned woman as he prepared to give the finishing blow.

"Yoruichi-san!" Urahara shouted as he and Ichimaru appeared just in time to block the fatal attack.

Mitsutaka retracted his sword with a sigh. "I should've known you would be here, Kisuke-kun. You always did follow Yoruichi-chan around." He greeted with the same fake expression he had greeted Yoruichi with.

"Mitsutaka-san, I don't suppose you would be interested in leaving Yoruichi-san and company alone?" Urahara asked politely, even though he knew the answer.

"No can do, Kisuke-kun. You know the rules. Once you join the party, you can't leave until one side has lost." Mitsutaka said with a shake of his finger, as if he were talking to a child. 

"I thought you would say that." Urahara sighed. "But, it would seem you are a bit preoccupied at the moment." He added with his usual salesman-like smile.

"So it would seem." Mitsutaka agreed as the three men looked over to a clearly pissed off Hitsugaya Toushirou. "Come, little brother! Let's finish this!" Akashi yelled with a maniacal laugh as he dashed towards Hitsugaya with his sword drawn and ready in hand. Their swords clashed, and Toushirou just barely managed to push the older fighter back.

"I retract my earlier statement...You have changed, Nii-san." Hitsugaya told his much older brother as they clashed again and again.

"That's right! I have become stronger and better!" Mitsutaka said with a very wilid look in his eye. "Look, I can even fight you kill them all at once." He added as he raised one of  his arms, separating it from its grip on Hidori, and aimed his palm towards Yoruichi and co. Then, wordlessly, a large red ball of energy that Hitsugaya recognized as a Shakkaho fired from Mitsutaka's hand.

"No! Rangiku!" Hitsugaya screamed as he moved to be in the path of Akashi's attack and dissipated it with his sword. He had moved faster than he had ever before, resulting in him being out of breath. "Urahara, I will keep him distracted for as long as I can...I need you and Ichimaru to get them out of here." He whispered to the older man behind him.

"Understood." Urahara agreed with a nod as he and Ichimaru grabbed Yoruichi and Rangiku respectively. They waited patiently for Hitsugaya's signal.

Hitsugaya took a long, drawn out breath. "Now!" He shouted before he launched himself at his brother.

"Don't even think about it, Kisuke-kun! You can't escape from me!" Mitsutaka shouted as he defended himself against his brother's attack.

"Your fight is with me!" Hitsugaya growled as he kicked at his brother, who only used the momentum of the kick to make space between himself and his younger brother. 

Akashi growled before he raised his sword in the air. Hitsugaya knew what he was planning to do and did the same thing, raising his own zanpakuto into the sky. "Bankai!" They both called out. Flames and ice surrounded both of them as they each activated their zanpakuto's second form.

Hitsugaya grew a pair of icy dragon wings, and ice claws on the ends of his extremities. A long ice tail grew behind him as he took his place in the sky, facing his flaming brother, who's bankai changed in a similar way to Toushirou's. Mitsutaka grew a large pair of fiery wings and talons on his feet, fire swirled around him as he floated in the air. 

"Honoakumo no Tori." Mitsutaka announced the name of his bankai.

"Daiguren Hyourinmaru." Hitsugaya also announced his bankai's name. 

"Let's go, Kisuke." Yoruichi struggled to say. She coughed up a few more splotches of blood as she worked to keep her mind clear.

"Hang in there, Yoruichi-san." Urahara whispered before he disappeared with Yoruichi, followed quickly by Ichimaru and Matsumoto.

Mitsutaka watched them leave from the corner of his eye. "Clever little brother! But they won't be able to run forever! Once I'm done with you, I will go after them!" He growled out angrily.

"No you won't!" Hitsugaya roared as he attacked his elder brother with as much force as he could muster. Mitsutaka kicked at the small captain, but Hitsugaya avoided it, and used that momentum to flip to Mitsutaka's backside, where he stabbed the red head. "Freeze!" Hitsugaya commanded.

"Haha! You think a little ice will be enough to freeze me?!" Mitsutaka questioned with an amused grin. He flared his reiatsu, forcing the ice to melt.

"Tch! Strong as ever." Hitsugaya muttered under his breath as he backed away.

Akashi pointed the tip of his zanpakuto at Hitsugaya. "Burn, Honoakumo." He whispered.

Hitsugaya barely dodged the column of flames that resulted from Mitsutaka's attack. The two went on like this, going back and forth, for several more minutes before Toushirou decided that he wasn't a match for his brother with the limiter on. He put a large amount of space between himself and his foe, and made his decision. "This might cause problems later...but I can't afford to lose." Toushirou whispered. He looked up at his brother. "Nii-san, did you know that about a century ago, Seireitei implemented a new rule for lieutenant and captain rank shinigami who go to the World of the Living?" He asked with a near invisible smirk.

"What are you talking about? Stalling won't help anyone, Toushirou." 

"Any and all lieutenant rank and higher shinigami who go to the World of the Living have a seal, called a Gentei Rein, placed on them so their large amount of reiatsu doesn't interfere with normal spirits." Hitsugaya continued explaining. "The command to release the seal is...Gentei Kaijo!" He said as he pulled his shihakusho down just enough that he could reveal the daffodil seal on his chest. Then, suddenly, a huge reiatsu could be felt from the captain. It could be seen enveloping him in a small frosty cocoon. Mitsutaka glared at him, unsure of what to make of the current situation. "Now I'm at full power." Toushirou stated in a matter-of-fact manner. 

"Full power?" Mitsutaka questioned.

"Lieutenants and captains have their power limited by 80% when the Gentei Rein is active." Hitsugaya explained to his elder brother.

"Hm, so they developed something like that, did they?" Mitsutaka asked rhetorically. 

"I'm coming, Brother." Hitsugaya warned as he raised his sword up, and summoned storm clouds using Hyourinmaru's ability.

Akashi copied his younger brother's movements. "No...as of this moment, I am no longer your brother. I am sorry, Toushirou." Akashi said quietly in a tone that didn't match his earlier actions and temperament. He held a face full of regret, as if he had been forced into doing something he had no desire to do. Despite this, he raissed his reiatsu to its peak, before he infused every bit of it into his zanpakuto. "Honoakumo...please...protect my baby brother and his family." He whispered quietly to the flaming sword as he moved faster than Hitsugaya could see. He stabbed his reiatsu filled zanpakuto into Hitsugaya's chest. "Release, breathe, and soar for me one last time, Honoakumo." Mitsutaka requested of his zanpakuto.

"B-Brother?" Hitsugaya asked surprised that he couldn't even see Akashi's movements.

"I told you, I am no longer your brother." Mitsutaka told him. "Toushirou, I died over a hundred years ago...I woke up a couple of years ago in Hueco Mundo, as if nothing had happened. Then, I realized that my existence was fading. I don't know how I came back, but I know why. It was to give you this, Toushirou." Akashi said as he let go of his zanpakuto, which was still stabbed inside of Toushirou.

"N-No...that can't be...What are you talking about, Nii-san?" Toushirou asked desperately, his mind fuzzy and confused.

"Toushirou, I will always love you. And, I promise, we will meet again someday." The red head promised. "Oh, that's right, also tell Yoruichi-chan that I'm sorry, but I'm proud of her and Kisuke-kun. Toushirou, I'm sorry for setting all of this up, but I needed to see for myself how much you had grown...How much my baby brother had grown up. Toushirou, I'm proud of you." Akashi told his brother as a single tear slipped away from him. Toushirou's eyes widened, uncomprehending of what was going on around him. "Toushirou, be careful...things won't be the same after today." Akashi gave one final warning before he disappeared for good.

Hitsugaya Toushirou stood there, his eyes wide. He stared at the spot his brother had just stood. Then, he grabbed the sword that had been stabbed into his chest, he pulled it out sharply. He expected there to be a lot of blood, and was surprised when there was none. There wasn't even a scar. "Nii-san..." He whispered as he realized that the zanpakuto his brother had used was now his, as was the red head's reiatsu. Hitsugaya Toushirou now possessed the powers of ice and fire. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have chapter 2...I'll start working on chapter three...Thanks for reading thus far. It is greatly appreciated.


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